ATLANTA — The Phillies returned to action following the All-Star break Friday night with the same cast of characters that entered the break.

And as they did 53 times in the first half of the season, the last-place Phillies christened the second half of this morbid season with a loss.

An early lead given to starter A.J. Burnett quickly went up in smoke when the Braves scored four times in the bottom of the second, and the Phillies went down quietly to the division-leading Braves, 6-4, at Turner Field.

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The game offered all the contrasts that speak to why the Braves (53-43) are 11 games ahead of the Phillies (42-54) in the National League East standings. Atlanta’s outfielders were showing their range and making sure the Phillies had as little real estate as possible to find places to drop hits. The Phillies, meanwhile, seemed to be a step short on getting to the bloops and ropes that the Braves were serving into the outfield off Burnett, who allowed 10 hits and six runs over five innings in a performance that did not enhance the veteran’s trade value as general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. tries to gauge which players are worth unloading before the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline.

Burnett showed his frustration as he left the field in the bottom of the fifth after allowing two more runs that put Atlanta ahead 6-2 and ended his evening.

“I would say six runs in five innings was pretty much the reason. That nails it on the head,” Burnett said of his mild outburst as he went in the dugout. “You want to come out when you get an early lead and a shutdown inning is important. A pitch here, a pitch there ... you have to make pitches. I was in counts where you have to make pitches, and I just didn’t.”

“He looked like he was laboring pretty good,” manager Ryne Sandberg said of Burnett, who had a streak of 10 straight starts of 6-plus innings ended. “He missed over the plate on some of those hits. He was trying to go to the corners and it was coming back over the plate. He was frustrated.”

The Phils gave Burnett a 2-0 lead in the top of the second, loading the bases with no outs. A Cody Asche sacrifice fly brought in the first run, and Cameron Rupp slapped a single to center to score Marlon Byrd with the second run.

That quickly vanished in the bottom half of the inning. Jason Heyward started the rally with a solo blast to right field, and after Atlanta starter Ervin Santana blooped a single to right that fell just out of the cautious reach of both Byrd and Chase Utley, B.J. Upton ripped an RBI double to right that knotted the score. Andrelton Simmons followed with a two-run single to left that put the Braves up for good.

Three of the big hits the Braves collected with Burnett ahead with two strikes in the count.

“Everything was up, man,” said Burnett (6-9), whose ERA pushed up to 4.08 for the season. “Everything was up and I was off. The changeups were up, Heyward hit a changeup that was up. The curveball was up. A few innings in the middle I got it where I wanted to, but I was inconsistent, and you can’t pitch against this club and be inconsistent this year.”

Burnett had two extra days of rest because of the All-Star break, but he didn’t consider the change in routine something that should have affected his performance.

“I feel like I should make a pitch after a week (of rest). That’s just how I am,” he said. “Whether we have a break or not, I made pitches to get to that point, so I have to make them after that. No excuses, I just didn’t get it done.”

The Braves had a ground-shaking pregame after they announced they were releasing veteran second baseman Dan Uggla, whose prolonged struggles had led to a benching and recent distractions. But that didn’t play a factor once the game began.